Opening arguments for the trial began Wednesday in Judge Bobby Galvan's 94th District Court.

The jury deliberated for a little over an hour before returning with their verdict. They found him not guilty of murder and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Lucio was found in late December 2017 in a bullet-ridden pickup that crashed through a home’s gate in the 2800 block of Sacky Drive. Two other men were injured in the shooting.

The two were among those who testified in the trial, and both identified Garcia as the person who shot Lucio. But their credibility as witnesses may have factored in to the not guilty verdict.

"We had two witnesses that were consistently lying from the very beginning," defense attorney Luis Garcia said following the trial. "I think the jury understood that there was a pattern of lying that was coming out of these witnesses, so I think that really, really influenced the decision on today's verdict."

During his closing arguments, Garcia argued the two men have gang affiliations — one admitted to this during his testimony, though he said he didn't involve himself with them anymore. He also held that the two had lied about things related to the case, including why they were in Corpus Christi that night.

"You simply cannot vote guilty off the reliability of these two witnesses here," Garcia said. "One lie is enough to question anything said by these two people."

"Ladies and gentleman, you find him guilty because the evidence makes him guilty," Pena said.

Gilberto Garcia was arrested in January 2015 in the 3800 block of Las Bahias Drive. Members of the Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force and city and federal agencies placed him in custody after they watched the home for about four hours.

He has past convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, online court records show.

He also was one of seven members of a prison gang who in July were sentenced to prison for involvement in a Racketeer Influence Corrupt Organizations conspiracy in July. He was sentenced to 18½ years in federal prison for that offense.

He was remanded back into federal custody upon conclusion of the trial Thursday afternoon.